IGCSE History Revision Site: Germany, Development of Dictatorship

The Weimar Republic b Germany went into the Great War in September 1914 b 1918: Germany s enemies, the Allies (Britain, France, Russia, USA) still undefeated b March 1918 Germany s spring offense on Paris b July 1918 Allies counter attacked and drove Germans back b Morale among the troops was very low defeat was near b War caused hardships and social inequities b Allied navies blocked the German coast prevented the imports of basic supplies linked to food shortages - leads to great suffering and military failure causes sense of hopelessness b August 1918 public hardships wit deadly influenza infection spreading over Europe b Russian Revolution (February 1917) caused discontent in Germany wanted the same revolution in overthrowing the Kaiser b November 1918 demanding change the Kaiser abdicates b 29 October, German sailors mutiny spread to base at Kiel b 4 November more soldier mutinies all across Germany government breaking down b 7 November worker strikes in Bavaria against the capital Munich b 9 November Kaiser Wilhelm agrees to abdicate fled to Holland b Social Democratic Party, Germany s larges political party in 1918 starts a new government b New government was able to agree an armistice: The Treaty of Versailles b The Treaty of Versailles stated that Germany had to withdraw from all land won in the war, put troops back into borders, put navy under Allied control b Armed groups with extreme political views clashed b Ebert began to take control by introducing slow, careful changes. b February 1919 a new constitution was created The Weimar Republic b Strengths of the Weimar Republic l Germany became more democratic: general elections every 4 years. l System of checks and balances limited power no single group or person had complete power

b Local government was run by the 18 regions of Germany kept local parliaments b Central government president and chancellor given more power than before b Reichstag dominant house of the new parliament controlled taxation l Members elected every four years l All men and women over 20 could vote using a secret ballot l Proportional Representation number of Reichstag seats which political parties were given depended on the percentage of votes they gained. b Reichsrat other house of German parliament l A number of members were sent by each local region according to it s size l Reichsrat could delay new laws unless overruled by a two thirds majority of the Reichstag. b Chancellor l Chancellor chose ministers and ran the country l Pass laws need majority support from the Reichstag b President head of state l Took no part in day to day government l Chose the chancellor l Could dismiss the Reichstag, call new elections, assume control of the army l Article 48 president could suspend the constitution and pass laws by decree b Friedrich Ebert elected by the Assembly as the first president b Promised that there wouldn t be nationalization of industries b Ensured the support of trade unions by giving them a maximum eight hour working day b Coalitions to get majority support, the chancellors a coalition of several large parties difficult to make a stable government b Germans felt that the Weimar Republic was very weak b Treaty of Versailles: l Reparations to the Allies eventually fixed, by 1921, it was 6600 million l Germany lost all its colonies 11 German colonies in Africa were given to victorious countries l Germany military forces cut the navy and army were limited, no air force was allowed. The Rhineland was demilitarized l Germany lost land lost many of it s industrial areas and population b Stab in the Back Myth the Germans called the new government the November Criminals for accepting the terms of the Treaty of Versailles b The Germans thought they were stabbed in the back by the Weimar Republic they lost immense amounts of support Economic Depression b Bankruptcy: reserves of gold had been spent in the war

b Treaty of Versailles deprived Germany of wealth earning areas b Could no longer pay reparations after 1923 due to having no more gold b Occupation of the Ruhr: Raw materials, manufactured goods, industrial the French confiscated all machinery. The Germans lost their main industrial area. b Inflation: shortage when price of things go up b Germany had hyperinflation because they kept on printing money prices rose way over affordable b Affected everyone mainly people with savings and the poor b September 1923 Gustav Stresemann appointed b November 1923 Stresemann cancelled the old mark and created the Rentenmark led to a period of stability b All suffering was blamed on the Weimar Republic b Political Problems: l Political unrests from both right wing and left wing l Sparacists extreme left wing group planned a revolt in 1919 (January) attempted to take over all of Germany s regions failed an crushed by the Freikorps l Freikorps demobilized soldiers anti communists l Kapp Putsch right wing revolt led by Wolfgang Kapp, wanted Kaiser to come back into control The Dawes Plan, 1924 l April 1924 new agreement with the Allies l The war reparations that need to be paid to the Allies were negotiated to an affordable level. l American Banks agreed to loan money to German industries l The French left the Ruhr l The German economy recovered immensely l Unemployment fell throughout the year Locarno Pact, 1925 l Signed in October 1925 l Locarno Treaties signed with Britain, France, Italy and Belgium. l Allies to remove their troops from the Rhineland l German entry into the League of Nations establishment of power, treated as an equal in the European Union League of Nations, 1926 l Symbolized that the European nations trusted Germany to bring peace again Kellogg Briand Pact, 1928 l An international agreement about war not using war as a tool to achieve foreign aims l Germany was now a member of the international community respected by others The Young Plan, 1929 l Linked to the success in foreign policy. l Young plan cut reparation payments strengthened the Weimar Republic.

b However, Stresemann died of a heart attack on 3 October 1929. There was no one that could lead Germany into becoming a better place. b Wall Street Crash of October 1929 Germany becoming weak again. The Wall Street Crash, 1929 b Share prices fell on the Wall Street stock exchange people s investments lost value Black Thursday b Banks suffered huge losses b American banks wanted Germans to pay back money borrowed during the Dawes Plan. b Main effects on Germany: drop in spending, factories closing, unemployment b Middle class, people with savings lost all money b Chancellor Brning wanted to raise taxes to pay unemployment benefits benefits reduced losing trust in the Weimar Republic b Nazis took this chance to gain more support from the Germans Hitler and Nazi Consolidation of Power b The Nazis started off in 1919 as the German Workers Party b Adolf Hitler was sent by the army to check on political groups and like the German Workers Party s ideas then he joined b Meetings were held, and Hitler started to become more involved with the party. b The members of this party were unhappy about the communists and socialists, who they blamed for bringing down the Kaiser b The German Workers party didn t like the Weimar Politicians who had agreed to the Treaty of Versailles. b There was a discrimination of Jews throughout Europe, and the Nazi party hated them too. b 25 Point Program: l Hitler and the Nazis developed this program for the benefit of the people l The Nazis wanted to get rid of the Treaty of Versailles, expand Germany s borders and give people lebensraum, and deprive Jews of German citizenship l Hitler was a great public speaker that attracted many into listening to the Nazis ideas. Membership and support grew rapidly. l Hitler became the leader of the Nazi party in mid 1921. l He gathered loyal party leaders including Ernst Rhm, Hermann Goering, Rudolf Hess and Julius Streicher that helped him build up his reputations l Hitler helped close friends come to power l The SA ( Sturmabteilung) or storm troopers were created in 1921 Party s private army recruitments from demobilized soldiers hard to control l Put Ernst Rhm in charge l 1923 Hitler creates the SS as his personal body guards b Munich Putsch: l Causes:

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Hyperinflation was making lives terrible Hitler wanted to make a great impact internationally Hitler knew that Stresemann was going to improve Germany s economy greatly, gaining the Weimar Republic more support Stresemann s government was already fighting opposition parties. Hitler was afraid that he would also get rid of the Nazi party. l Events: 8 November 1923 meeting of 3000 officials in a beer hall in Munich. Marched into Munich and claimed that he was in control Hitler burst in with the SA and claimed that he was taking control over Munich scared government officials gave into Hitler s threat Government officials changed their minds captured Hitler All Nazi Officials were arrested and were to stand trial in 1924. l Effects: Nazi officials were trailed and Hitler was sentenced to jail Hitler used his trail to get national publicity about his views The NSDAP was banned but later got many votes in the 1924 elections Hitler was released after 9 months In jail, Hitler wrote his book Mein Kampf or My Struggle mapped out political and economic ideas in the Nazi Party After he was released from jail, Hitler reorganized the entire Nazi Party. Re launched the Nazi Party at the scene of the Munich ( Beer Hall ) Putsch. Divided the party into regions Befriended wealthy businessmen that would fund the Nazi propaganda The SA and SS were also strengthened with more money expanded the SA Hitler didn t trust the SA in protecting him created the SS too loyal to Ernst Rhm The SS was ruthless and got rid of any opponents to the Nazi Party Joseph Goebbels was the Nazi Propaganda minister simple message created many ways to get it across to Germans Jews and communist blamed for the bad conditions of Germany Hitler was the voice of the Nazi Party Hitler s passion, Nazi rallies and power of the SA and SS increased support 1928 Nazis unsuccessful in the votes economics becoming better Under the leadership of Stresemann, the economy had been better inflation was gone and Germany was regaining its international status. Hindenburg becomes president didn t trust Hitler reputation as ex war field marshal boosted the German confidence in the Weimar Republic

b After the Great Depression, Hitler told the Germans that he wanted to a) Unite the county under a strong leader b) Get rid of the Treaty of Versailles c) Restorer peace from social unrest d) Persuade other nations to treat Germany fairly b Hitler s message and ideas appealed to many people, thus gaining their support b The SA created rallies that helped in the Nazi campaigns used against opposition parties violence b The working class supported the Nazi party because they promised work and bread . b The Middle Class (landowners, lawyers, businessmen) supported the Nazis because the Social Democrats and Communists wanted to take away private land b Nazis promised that they would protect the farmers and middle class from the taking away of their plots of land and industries b Big Businesses helped fund the Nazis in their campaigns b Young people were attracted to Hitler s enthusiasm and voice in speaking about his own ideas. b Women didn t support Hitler as much because their roles were limited. However, The Nazi Party made special appeals saying the voting for the NSDAP would be the best for their county and families. i Nazis win Power, 1932 33 b July 1932 Nazi Party is largest in Reichstag. b March 1932 Hitler s first attempt at running for President b Wall street Crash caused collapse of German industry and banking b Unemployment and loss of savings led to social unrest b Hitler got 11 million votes, but Hindenburg was elected with 19 million votes. b April 1932 Chancellor Brning was a moderate socialist he had a presidential decree to ban the SA and the SS he wanted to have control over Nazis b Von Schleicher (right wing) organized a coalition of landowners and industrialists and later sacked Brning b May 1932 Von Papen becomes Chancellor he as an ex General and a figure head of von Schleicher b Von Schleicher offered Nazis a place in the coalition, but the coalition was very weak. b The elections of July 1932 NSDAP 230 seas Hitler s attempt at becoming Chancellor during the power struggle b Hindenburg disliked Hitler, didn t want to give him the post of Chancellor b New elections of November 1932 Nazi seats fall to 196 seats, there was no NSDAP support for von Papen. Hindenburg no longer had confidence in von Papen sacked von Papen Hitler Takes Power

i 30 January 1933- Hitler becomes Chancellor due to the power struggle in the country i Nazi strengths Hitler s speaking skills were excellent appealed to wide audience i The Nazis had many propaganda campaigns and had support from big businesses i They blamed the Treaty of Versailles on the Weimar Republic and introduced their policies to the public. i Other factors of why Hitler became Chancellor was because of the crisis of 1923, the Great Depression and opponent failures (e.g. weak Weimar Republic) i However, Hitler had limited powers the Weimar Constitution controlled the Chancellor s power, Hindenburg retained all the powers i Hitler had a cabinet of 11 people, only two of them were Nazi members i 1/3 of the Reichstag were the Nazis i Hitler wanted to remove these restrictions to his power using three main events: b Reichstag Fire b The Enabling Act b The Night of Long Knives i Reichstag Fire b 27 February 1933 Reichstag building burned down b the Nazis blamed the Communist they said that it was the beginning of their uprising. b There was evidence that the communists burned down the Reichstag - van der Lubbe, a Dutch communist was in the building with matchs b The Nazis could have burned down the Reichstag use to get rid of opposition and to pass the Enabling Act. b Hitler said that the Reichstag Fire was a communist conspiracy. He declared a state of emergency so that Hitler can use decrees to govern the country Enabling Act i The 1933 Elections b 5 March 1933 hoped for more Nazi seats in the Reichstag b Hitler used decrees to imprison political opponents b The Nazis raised millions of marks from rich businessmen b Hitler used his emergency powers to ban the Communists from attending the elections b 288 seats were won by the Nazis (2/3 of the Reichstag) b The Nazis now had enough votes to change constitution of the Republic b The SA was used to attack political rivals i The Enabling Act b 23 March 1933 Passing of the Enabling Act change constitution b opposition parties intimidated by the SA and SS

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b Hitler allowed to make laws for 4 years without consulting Reichstag b This is the end of democracy and the end of the Weimar Republic s rule b Hitler passed laws that turned Germany into a totalitarian state there was no more democracy b Hitler (not the Reichstag) made all the laws Some opponents included trade unions they were a potential source of oppositions because communists would have control over workers May 1933 Hitler banned trade unions, striking was illegal. Another opponent would be the Political Parties. July 1933 Law Against Establishment of Parties- make the NSDAP the only political party in Germany. Another opponent would be the Local Government Hitler wanted to strengthen the government in Berlin and wanted to weaken the Weimar Republic Regions (Lnder) had own Parliament abolished Lnder and declared Nazis ran every region The Night of the Long Knives b Opponents taken away to concentration camps and banned b Hitler should choose the Army because: 1) Well trained, organized, discipline 2) Only organization that could remove Hitler 3) Support from big businesses and conservatives 4) Efficient to take back land lost to the Treaty of Versailles b Hitler shouldn t choose the Army because: 1) The army was small 100,000 men 2) He didn t know whether the army would be loyal to him or not 3) The Generals disliked the Nazis b Hitler should choose the SA because: 1) Rhm was Hitler s friend 2) The SA fought in the Munich Putsch and the Communist 3) Committed Nazis 4) Had 2,500,000 men b Hitler shouldn t choose the SA because: 1) SA was beginning to get out of hand (interfering) 2) Disapproved of some Nazi leaders 3) SA to control army, going along with SA demands 4) Didn t agree with SA anti capitalist policies b Leaders of the SS (Himmler and Heydrich) reduce power of SA to increase own power b 30 June 1934 arrested SA officials imprisoned them then shot them b Rhm to Stadelheim jail shot on the first of July b The Night of the Long Knives lasted four days 150 senior members of the SA and 400 people killed b German army was dwarfed by the SA b 1934 Germany becomes one party state

Some Germans objected to the violence caused Hitler feared Ernst Rhm, the leader of the SA Von Papen protested to Goering von Papen was murdered The SA was loyal to Rhm, not Hitler SA became limited after this The SA opposed to Hitler s policies and criticized links with industrialists and Generals. i The Death of President Hindenburg b 2 August 1934 Death of Hindenburg b

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